{"399931":{"#nid":"399931","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Buzzwords Dominate Business Communication","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMeetings, emails, and presentations are often filled with a seemingly endless stream of jargon \u2014 such as \u2018pick the low-hanging fruit\u2019 or \u2018think outside the box\u2019 \u2014 that is supposed to serve as shorthand to help convey a message. Does it work? Does its overuse become clich\u00e9? Why do people rely on jargon to communicate?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEver since Robin Lakoff and Mark Johnson\u2019s landmark 2003 study, \u003Cem\u003EMetaphors We Live By\u003C\/em\u003E, there has been a broader recognition of metaphors \u2014 a figure of speech in which a word\/phrase is linked to an object or action to which it is not literally connected: thinking does not ever happen in boxes,\u201d said Richard Utz, chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/lmc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThey try to help simplify and link more complex subject matter with commonly comprehensible objects, such as fruit and boxes, to enable easy communication.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJoey Asher, adjunct lecturer in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/scheller.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EScheller College of Business\u003C\/a\u003E, agrees \u2014 up to a point. \u201cOn the positive side, buzzwords create a shorthand among people who know each other well. It\u2019s essential to have a shorthand when communicating,\u201d he said. \u201cThe danger is making the assumption that people understand what you mean. There\u2019s group pressure to be quiet and nod \u2014 even if you don\u2019t understand.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAnother problem is that jargon is generational, Asher said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cBuzzwords change over time, so younger people may not be familiar with older phrases.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EUtz noted, as well, that these expressions are sometimes regionally specific, sometimes class-, gender-, or race-specific, which can lead to misinterpretation by those unfamiliar with the buzzword or phrase.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cAnother danger of misinterpretation has to do with the cultural specificity of many buzzwords and their inbuilt metaphors,\u201d said Utz, whose background includes the study of rhetoric and linguistics. \u201cThus, while a German will probably get the idea of \u2018thinking outside the box,\u2019 the German will prefer using a different buzz phrase to express the same issue \u2014 \u00fcber den Tellerrand schauen \u2014 which is translated as: \u2018to look beyond the edge of one\u2019s plate.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EClearer Communication\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo, if buzzwords have the potential to be so confusing, why do people continue to use them?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cI think people use buzzwords to make themselves sound smarter,\u201d said Asher, who also is president of Speechworks, a personal coaching business. \u201cMy gut feeling \u2014 when listening to people who use buzzwords \u2014 is that they don\u2019t know what they are talking about. There\u2019s a backlash to the use of buzzwords. People trust you less. People are sensitized to it. Their b.s. detectors are pretty refined.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo, what\u2019s the alternative?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cI do think people overuse buzzwords and jargon as a substitute for clear speech, and they should try to avoid it,\u201d Asher said. \u201cJust speak simply. Mark Twain said, \u2018If you can catch an adverb, kill it.\u2019 I think you can amend that to, \u2018If you can catch a buzzword, kill it.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EUtz disagrees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThere really is no way for human beings to do without metaphor or buzz phrases,\u201d he said. \u201cThey render us human beings capable of connecting what we know about our physical and social experience with subjects or issues we could otherwise not comprehend.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMeetings, emails, and presentations are often filled with a seemingly endless stream of jargon that is supposed to serve as shorthand to help convey a message. Does it work?\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Meetings, emails, and presentations are often filled with a seemingly endless stream of jargon that is supposed to serve as shorthand to help convey a message. Does it work?"}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2015-05-11 09:23:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:08","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"403331":{"id":"403331","type":"image","title":"Buzzwords","body":null,"created":"1449252000","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:00:00","changed":"1475895124","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:04","alt":"Buzzwords","file":{"fid":"75964","name":"bizbuzzwords.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bizbuzzwords.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bizbuzzwords.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1211323,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bizbuzzwords.jpg?itok=5qYOy6RQ"}}},"media_ids":["403331"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/scheller.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Management"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.lmc.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Literature, Media, and Communication"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"124821","name":"buzzwords"},{"id":"955","name":"ivan allen college"},{"id":"124831","name":"Joey Asher"},{"id":"33431","name":"Richard Utz"},{"id":"167089","name":"Scheller College of Business"},{"id":"167943","name":"School of Literature Media and Communication"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-6398\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}